My mom told me my chili was watery and now I save the tomato juice for something else

She said I was drowning the beans so now I drain the can and add the juice later if it needs it, has anyone else had a relative call them out on a dumb cooking habit like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma_taylor476d ago

Try adding a spoonful of masa harina to thicken it up instead.

the_faith7d ago

Actually you might want to hold onto that tomato juice for something else like soups or stews. But the real thing here is that watery chili usually comes from not cooking it long enough to let it thicken. My grandmother taught me to let chili simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes after everything is in the pot. That extra time really makes a difference and helps the flavors blend together better than just draining the can.

patricia5587d ago

Hang on a second, I gotta push back on that 30 minute simmer advice. In my experience, just 30 minutes uncovered is usually not enough to really thicken up chili unless you started with a really thick base. A lot of times you need closer to an hour or even more, depending on how much liquid you have and how fatty your meat is. My own trick is to actually let it simmer covered for a while first to cook everything through, then take the lid off for the last 30 to 45 minutes to let that excess moisture steam off. And don't forget that the size of your pot matters too, a wide pot will let more liquid evaporate faster than a tall narrow one. Just something to keep in mind, your mileage may vary but I've had way too many thin batches from rushing the uncovered part.